If there’s one thing Boomer Babes have in common, it’s the realization that time flies more quickly the older we get. Although other generations may echo this sentiment, it seems to me that boomers tend to be more acutely aware not only of the speed with which time passes, but also of the inherent value of time itself.
When I decided the theme for my 2008 CWO column would be FREEDOM, I had no idea how God would use our time together throughout the course of the year. As 2008 began, I wasn’t certain how I was going to come up with new stories to share every month, centered on freedom to be all God intends us to be. I knew only that it was a theme placed on my heart, and that God would make a way.
And make a way He most assuredly did. Your emails about the FREEDOM theme touched my heart. Thank you for reading and for responding. Yet even though Scripture teaches us in John 8:32 that, “…the truth will set you free,” it seems many of us still struggle with issues of bondage in some form or another. We are not living lives of freedom. Many of my Boomer Babe sisters tell me they believe freedom from bondage is possible through what Jesus Christ did for us on the Calvary cross, yet in many ways, they still live as captives in chains. Many of my Boomer Babe sisters are in bondage to people, places, things, behaviors, attitudes, habits, and choices. We are letting time pass us by, never fully experiencing the true joy of life.
This past year Harvest House Publishers released my newest non-fiction book focused on finding hope and healing for those of us struggling with dysfunctional adult children. Although I suspected it was an epidemic issue when I conducted the research for the book and wrote it, I had no way to predict how readers would respond to Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children. After eleven months of availability at bookstores around the country, the sales figures continue to climb. It seems the 6 Steps to SANITY have struck a chord with readers.
I speak to fellow Boomer Babes every day who share the sheer frustration of so many out-of-control life situations. I call it living on “the gerbil wheel of a dizzy life,” when we continue to go ‘round and ‘round and ‘round, with no end in sight. Many call it INSANITY, when we repeat the same actions and behaviors and expect different results.
Are you ready to STOP THE INSANITY? If another year has flown by and you find yourself still … (fill in the blank) I’m inviting you to join me throughout the next twelve months as we take the concept of freedom to a higher level. Let’s work together to find SANITY!
I want to let you in on a little known secret that I personally discovered as I applied the 6 Steps to SANITY to my relationship with my adult son. I discovered that the same 6 Steps to SANITY apply to just about every area of life! I’ve learned so many amazing lessons this past year as I have journeyed on the road to SANITY. Please join me in 2009 as I share SANITY with you. What it means, why we don’t have it, why Satan wants to keep us from acquiring it, and most vital, how we can get it!
That said, I’m going to leave you with my list of the top ten things I learned this past year. Here’s to a blessed Holy Season and to a beautiful New Year!
The Top Ten Things I Learned in 2008
10. We can apply the 6 Steps to SANITY in all areas of life, not just in relationships with our adult children.
9. We enable far more people in life than our adult children.
8. Everyone has been placed here for such a time as this. We all have a story to tell.
7. Whether that story is for one, one hundred, one thousand, or more, it’s a story that must be told.
6. If we don’t pursue the dreams of our heart, no one will.
5. Living a life of FREEDOM in Christ is not passive. It requires ongoing active choices.
4. The most important things in life are not things.
3. The choices we make change the story of our life.
2. God will always make a way where there seems to be no way.
…and the drum roll please….the Number One thing I learned in 2008…
1. God is in control. Always has been and always will be.
Until next year, dear Boomer Babes who Rock, may the good Lord bless and keep you all!
Allison Bottke
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